10. The 2012 Election

Say what you want about the candidates or the outcome, the multibillion-dollar presidential election produced compelling TV. We started the year with the Republican primary in full swing, including a series of TV debates that genuinely, and repeatedly, changed the course of the race. Some real gemstones! (It’s Gingrich! No, Romney! No, Santorum! No, Romney!) The Internet mattered more than ever — it gave us the “47%” video, for instance — but Clint Eastwood and his chair showed that TV conventions could still get people talking, Bill Clinton showed that they could still move the polls and the debates showed that TV could still shake up a race (if not enough to save Mitt Romney). And amid all the sideshows (Chik-fil-A sandwich, anyone?), we managed to have an actual, serious dialogue on the role of government, women’s rights, tax fairness and (thanks, Stephen Colbert!) campaign finance. Like many a successful show, it may have dragged on too long, but cynics take note: this election really mattered, and people weren’t too turned off to tune in. (Various channels)